A Timeless Gift

Before I was, before you were – Life was.

A craftsman artist tends vats of melting sand,

Squinting against the heat,

Forearm rising to wipe his reddened brow.

Deft hands carefully add selected salts.

Rose and magenta bubble here.

Topaz and amber appear there.

Azure and cobalt develop side by side.

Myriad rainbow pieces are slowly born

At the bidding of the craftsman.

The artist selects size, shape, and shade,

Commanding the tiny pieces,

Assembling the picture in his heart.

Leaves - flowers – buds – birds - grow from his hand.

Into the frame, landscapes and images settle.

Beauty, once only in memory, becomes tangible

In majestic windows beautifying the house of God.

The craftsman artist rests -

His soul and spirit sealed and secure

In his stained glass creation.

Relentless time presses on.

Life flows from generation to generation;

Still, the creation rests.

Awaiting light to reveal its beauty.

Awaiting hearts to unlock the spirit within.

On a dark winter’s morn,

Worshipers, such as I, delay daily tedium

To find, at the start of day, in a holy place, strength for tasks ahead.

Gentle notes of prelude herald the rising sun.

Morning light shyly peeks over the horizon in the Eastern sky.

Slowly the very air we breathe becomes alive in a kaleidoscope of color!

Streaming in from the heavens, rainbows wreath the rafters;

Sapphire and Emerald walls twinkle and sway.

Lacy blue butterflies perch on pews and flit away.

Green and garnet gardens lightly touch tiles.

The spirit of the craftsman artist,

Long embedded in the beauty of his creation,

Lives again – speaks love and peace to waiting hearts.

Through the permeable barrier of time,

The creator’s spirit touches mine.     

My soul, opening to the possibilities of humanity,

Stretching to receive this gift from ages past,

Breathes beauty,

Breathes peace,

Breathes assurance.

We, in the timeless stream of humanity,

Encouraged by those who’ve gone before,

Committed to those yet to be,

Rise to create our lives.

A new day has begun! 

Joan Shaw Turrentine

January 2020

Copyright 2020
Photo by Javier Bouchard on Unsplash